Traitors
by Ellsey
Summary: After the battle with Aizen, there are some big decisions to make. The kind that make or break relationships.


"How goes the hunt?"

Yoruichi sighed heavily. "No go. I'm afraid you're going to need to hire an actual cat to get rid of the mice. They seem to realize I'm not fully cat and are extremely unimpressed by my efforts to scare them away."

Kisuke shrugged. "Well it was worth a try. I have something here that might interest you though."

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"It appears to be a summons," Kisuke replied, waving a letter in his hand. "From the Soul Society."

Yoruichi shuddered. "Ugh, haven't we heard enough from them? I mean, they apologized, we accepted, blah blah, life goes on."

"They want to meet with us. And the Visoreds." Kisuke's sheepish look told Yoruichi exactly how well that had gone over with them. Well, with one of them in particular.

"Did Hiyori bite your head off?" Yoruichi asked.

"Well, let's just say Hiyori has spent some time in exile expanding her vocabulary." Kisuke shrugged. "They'll be here. Even Hiyori is a little curious what this is about though she won't admit it."

Yoruichi raised an eyebrow. "I'll just bet she is. Are we all meeting here?"

"Where else? You know what they call us: Urahara Shouten, Karakura's premier shop for candy, illicit Soul Society goods, and mysterious summons."

"Too bad that won't fit on the business cards," Yoruichi laughed.

"Biggest regret of my life," Kisuke sighed dramatically.

The Visoreds joined Yoruichi, Kisuke, and Tessai at the appointed time, full of a mix of curiosity and anxiety. Everyone was surprised to see the Captain Commander himself has come.

Yamamoto wasted no time. "I know that you all have received your official pardon and apology, but I would like to once again say that I'm very sorry for all that happened. We did what we felt we had to do for the good of the Court, but perhaps things could have been doing differently."

Yoruichi wasn't terribly impressed, but it didn't matter much anyway. Her days of dealing with the Captain Commander were over. Apathy would probably best describe her feelings at this point. Looking over the Visoreds told a different story though. The looks on their faces ranged from politely interested to positively disgusted.

Naturally Shinji was the first one to speak up. "That's awful nice and all, but what does this have to do with any of us? Your little letter covered everything, so why are you here?"

"As you all know, we have some captain positions open. I have discussed it with the Central 46, and they agreed that we had some prime candidates here. We would like to extend an invitation to all of you to serve in the leadership of the Gotei 13."

Yoruichi exchanged a glance with Kisuke. She could tell that he had not expected this either. He stood and flicked his fan open. "Captain Commander, I'm sure you can appreciate what a big decision this is for all of us. If you would please give us time to discuss it amongst ourselves, it would be greatly appreciated."

Yoruichi rolled her eyes. He sure was laying it on thick. Yamamoto seemed to understand and merely nodded his head. "Of course. Please take time to discuss it and…"

"Discuss it? There's nothing to discuss Kisuke!" Hiyori spat. "We'd rather die than go back to help you guys. Or did you forget about the part where you tried to kill us? Go find some other suckers to do your dirty work. Right Shinji?" Hiyori paused, waiting for his response. "Shinji?! "

Shinji looked thoughtful. "Well now, I'm thinking we should at least talk about it…"

"You have got to be kidding me!" Hiyori screamed, throwing up her arms. She quickly stormed off, Shinji following closer behind.

"Just take a minute to listen to me Hiyori," Shinji said in a placating tone. The other Visoreds reluctantly followed the screaming pair.

Yamamoto looked distinctly uncomfortable, but Yoruichi had no interest in making him feel better. He cleared his throat, unsure of what to say. "Well, please let us know of your decisions," was what he settled on.

After Yamamoto left, Kisuke sat back down and looked at Yoruichi and Tessai. "I guess you all have some big decisions to make."

The statement took Yoruichi by surprise. "You all?"

"Yes. I mean I couldn't possibly leave the shop and the kids here alone. But of course you two are free to do as you please." Kisuke tried to keep his voice light, but Yoruichi knew him better than that. There was an undercurrent of fear there, as if he actually thought that either she or Tessai might leave.

Yoruichi looked at their ever loyal assistant. "Will you go back Tessai?"

Tessai took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "I think I'm rather settled here. Plus the boss could never run this place without me."

"Well, we all know that wherever Tessai goes, I go," Yoruichi said with a smile. "So I guess that's settled."

The slight tension in Kisuke's shoulders settled. "I'm glad," he said.

Shinji came wandering in looking exhausted. "That girl is going to be the death of me." For whatever reason, this sent Kisuke into a fit of silent laughter. Shinji just grimaced at his friend.

"I take it things didn't go well?" Yoruichi asked.

"If by go well you mean that brat called me about 5 different names and then threw both her shoes at me, then yes, things went amazingly well." Shinji plopped down onto the ground. "I don't even see what the big deal is. I just said we should talk about things. I'm sure you all did the same."

Kisuke wiped the tears from his eyes. "We had a short conversation yes. It was easy because we were all on the same page. Are you honestly considering going back?"

Shinji paused before answering. "You know one of the divisions without a captain is the fifth. _My_ division. If it weren't for my dumb mistakes, I would still be the captain. They've been practically destroyed by what Aizen did. I can't help but think that maybe I could make it better for them. Right some of my wrongs. You understand, right?"

Kisuke suddenly looked very serious. " _I_ understand to some extent. What do you think I've spent the past century doing? I think things might seem a bit different to Hiyori though."

Yoruichi studied Kisuke's face. He had always been a bit protective when it came to his former Vice Captain. It was strange really. No matter how hard Kisuke had tried to befriend Hiyori, she had fought him at every turn. Despite all that, he seemed to view her as a really pesky kid sister. Even after their exile, he had gone out of his way to make sure she was as comfortable as possible in her new world. Naturally this meant that Yoruichi had spent a good deal of time with the Hiyori as well, but the nature of their relationship could be called acquaintance at best. Yoruichi had never quite understood what drove Kisuke to keep trying so hard.

For his part, Shinji didn't seem to understand what Kisuke was saying either. "Look, I understand what she's saying. I even understand why she's upset. I just don't understand why she won't even talk to me about it. I thought we could do that at least. Especially since everything that's happened since the fight with Aizen…" Shinji cut himself off sharply and just shook his head. "It doesn't matter. She ran off to who knows where before I could really say anything anyway."

Yoruichi rose. She may not be that close to the girl, but she knew that Hiyori could use someone to talk with. Kisuke gave her a quick smile and nod, and she set off to find his former vice captain.

Yoruichi found Hiyori sitting on the roof of the shop. The small blond girl seemed even tinier than usual with her legs bent, chin resting on knees. She was staring out at the buildings of Karakura, face almost completely blank. Yoruichi eased herself down beside Hiyori, saying nothing.

"Did _he_ make you come look for me?" Hiyori asked.

Yoruichi wasn't sure which "he" she was referring to. Not that it mattered. "No one sent me. I just noticed you were missing."

Hiyori snorted in a pale version of her usual self. "Oh really? And what made miss high -and-mighty princess interested in a peon like me? Did your dumb boyfriend tell you I needed help or something?"

Yoruichi sighed. Hiyori was determined to lash out at as many people as possible, as usual. It wasn't worth her time to try and correct anything Hiyori said. She decided to just jump right in. "So that was interesting, was it not? "

"You sound like Kisuke." Hiyori blew out a breath. "This whole thing is stupid. Soul Society showed us exactly what they thought of us 100 years ago. They were going to kill us like Hollows!"

Yoruichi stayed silent. She had never quite considered the difference in their conditions, having considered their exiles somewhat even in the end. She realized now that they weren't. Yoruichi had chosen this life, chosen to abandon everything she had for her own reasons. She was never treated like a substandard creature though. Never threatened with death for being turned into a test subject. When Kisuke stabilized them, Yoruichi kind of considered it over. The pain of the Visoreds' treatment by the Soul Society ran deep though.

"Are you going back?" Hiyori almost sounded timid.

"Noooo." Hiyori raised a eyebrow in question. Yoruichi tried to think of the most diplomatic yet honest answer. "My…life is here now."

"So Kisuke is staying then? I knew he would! He may be annoying in more ways than I can count, but he's no moron. He knows where he belongs. He understands what they did to us." Hiyori paused in her rant and peered at Yoruichi. "What about your family though?"

The question gave Yoruichi pause as she wasn't quite sure what to say. Her relationship with the Shihouins was strained to say the least. Being exiled and disowned did some major damage to that bond. There was more to it though. This was her family now. Kisuke,Tessai, even Ururu and Jinta, they were the family she chose. She wasn't sure she wanted to explain all this to Hiyori though. "My family is here," was what she settled on.

"That's what I thought. After everything that has happened…after everything we've been through together… We stuck together, you know? I even did the dishes for them! I wish I had never washed one of Shinji's stupid bowls now. "

 _And there we have it_ , Yoruichi thought. "Did Shinji talk to you about going back to Soul Society?"

Hiyori laughed bitterly. "He tried. He kept giving me some crap about how he owed the fifth division and how it was his fault they didn't have a captain. Telling me we could be better than them and help them out. As if I care about helping them."

"What do you care about then?"

"The only thing I care about is me and my life."

"Then why do you care what Shinji does?" Yoruichi asked.

"Because I do, OK?" Hiyori's voice started to become shrill. "He never thinks about how things affect anyone but himself. What am I supposed to do without him here? Does he just expect me to sit here pining away until…" She clamped her jaw shut, breathing heavily.

Yoruichi observed the younger girl. She had heard what happened to Hiyori in the battle with Aizen. What Ichimaru had done. How Shinji had reacted. By all accounts he had been incredibly distraught, dropping everything trying to save Hiyori. Yoruichi had always wondered about the two of them, going back to their time in Soul Society. Kisuke had been determined to make Hiyori like him, and he had used Shinji as a buffer. The four of them would go out for drinks, Shinji and Hiyori bickering the entire time. They seemed to enjoy it, but Yoruichi had never quite understood it. Hiyori treated Kisuke the same way though, and she certainly had no interest in him. Yoruichi had come to the conclusion that she'd never understand Hiyori. Maybe she had in fact been onto something.

Hiyori bristled at the silence. "Just forget it, OK. Just go back to your stupid perfect life in your stupid perfect house with your stupid perfect fake family and leave me alone. "

Yoruichi shook her head. She didn't blame Hiyori for her bitterness though. She was going to have to talk to Kisuke about this. There was nothing that man loved more than getting involved in everyone's personal lives anyway. For now though, she could only comfort Hiyori the best way she could.

"Hiyori, I'm sorry Shinji is such an idiot."

She was rewarded with a ghost of a smile. "He is a dumb baldy, isn't he?"

"Most definitely," Yoruichi replied enthusiastically. "The baldest of the baldies."

They sat in silence for a few minutes more when Hiyori surprised Yoruichi with a quiet, "Thank you."

"For what?" Yoruichi asked.

"Being smart enough to know that we don't belong there."

"You know, you could always stay here with us," Yoruichi said. "There's plenty of room in the shop."

Hiyori looked touched for a moment, but then quickly sneered. "Naw, it would be way too tempting for Kisuke to have all this hanging around all the time. I don't think he could keep his hands off me."

Yoruichi smiled. "You're probably right. C'mon, let's go raid the inventory. I know where Tessai keeps all the really good stuff."

Hiyori bounced up. "Now I see who the real genius is around here. That's the best idea I've heard in a century or so."

In the end, four of the Visoreds decided to go back. Shinji, Rose, Kensei, and Mashiro were all returning the Soul Society. Shinji, Rose, and Kensei were taking back their old captain positions while Mashiro was tagging along because where Kensei went, she went. End of story.

Everyone gathered to watch the "traitors" as Hiyori called them leave the living realm. Hacchi sincerely wished his former partners good luck in their endeavors, while Lisa and Love managed to look fairly disinterested. Hiyori on the other hand was fuming. The more Shinji had tried to talk to her about it, the angrier she had gotten. He finally gave up and began making preparations to return.

Rose and Kensei gave informal farewells, but Mashiro insisted on hugging everyone as tightly as possible. Shinji just stood back and watched from the side.

"Are you sure I can't convince you to go back with us Kisuke?" Shinji asked.

Kisuke smiled. "Sorry, but I'm rather settled here. Thank you for asking though."

"Well it was worth a try." Shinji turned to Hiyori this time. "What about you Hiyori?" Hiyori stared into space, pretending not to hear him. Shinji sighed and walked towards her. "Hiyori, can you at least pretend you're not an evil brat for about 5 minutes and say goodbye to me?"

The glare Hiyori gave to Shinji scared even Yoruichi. Shinji grabbed her hands and lowered his voice to almost a whisper. "C'mon Hiyori, it won't be that bad. Come with me."

Yoruichi was expecting the usual fire and thunder from Hiyori. Instead, with a quiet voice she said, "Go to hell Shinji." With that she turned around and walked away.

Lisa looked at Shinji sympathetically. "We'll take care of her for you." She and the remaining Visoreds followed the general direction of Hiyori.

Shinji's face worked through several emotions at once, but he quickly calmed himself. He shrugged his shoulders and turned to go.

Kisuke's face held a mild look of concern. "Err, Hirako-san, are you just going to leave it at that?"

Shinji stopped. "Do I have any other choice?"

"Hold on just one sec." Kisuke ran to the back of the shop and quickly came back with a small package. "Take this with you. I have a feeling it will come in handy." Kisuke took in a deep breath and added, "And really, if you need anything, change your mind even just a little, you're always welcome here."

Shinji gave a tight smile. "Thanks Kisuke." With that, Shinji walked forward toward both his past and his future.

Yoruichi tilted her head. "What did you give him?"

"Ahh that." Kisuke looked a bit sheepish. "It's a phone."

"A phone?"

"Yes. One that will work calling from Soul Society to the living realm and back."

"Missing your bestie already?" Yoruichi questioned.

Kisuke just winked. "I should probably find Hiyori. I have a gift for her as well."

"Kisuke, are you trying to mend friendships or play matchmaker? I haven't quite figured it out."

Kisuke stumbled as if hurt. "Ahh, you wound me. I'm merely trying to ensure everyone's ultimate happiness."

Yoruichi laughed. "Oh really? I don't see you too concerned about my ultimate happiness."

"Nonsense, I attend to you every wish and whim as a regular matter."

This really set Yoruichi laughing, and Kisuke joined in. Kisuke quieted down though and asked, "They'll be alright, won't they?"

"Who, Shinji and Hiyori?" Kisuke nodded, and Yoruichi took some time to think before responding. "I think so. I hope so." Another pause. " I mean if those two kids can't make it, who can?"

She was rewarded with Kisuke's laugh. "Well, I'll probably wait a bit before I give the other phone to Hiyori. I'm pretty sure I'd just get a shoe to the face at this point. Well, I'll probably get one either way, so it's just determining at which point she'll have minimal throwing force." With that he turned to go back into the store.

Yoruichi was hit with a sudden wave of affection for Kisuke. "Hey Kisuke," she called after him.

He turned slightly. "Hmm?"

"You're a good friend."

Kisuke raised his eyebrows. "Well I should hope I'm more than just good. And more than just a friend for that matter."

That earned him a laugh and an eye roll. "We'll have to see about that," was the only response Yoruichi would give him.

"I look forward to it," he said with a certain gleam.

So did Yoruichi.


End file.
